Taking over the space formerly home to Jamison and Fenouil, The Hairy Lobster, which bills its food as Old World comfort food and is set to open March 3, has transformed the venue from posh to casual and funky. The restaurant is a collaboration between husband-and-wife team, David and Mellisa Root, with veteran chef David creating shared plates for lunch and dinner and awarded pastry chef Mellisa making desserts.
As the photo gallery above shows, a wall is dedicated to door knockers that cleverly tell the story of the owners: The main knocker is a stag bust to represent the couple's love of wild game; a bull moose represents growing up in Idaho; and a mermaid symbolizes Mellisa's whimsical dessert creations, which she honed at Thomas Keller's Per Se and Palo Alto's Madera.
The most eye-catching detail in the restaurant is an original painting by Chilean artist, Carlos Valenzuela. Positioned so it lords over the 110-seat main dining room, it depicts a pin-up (nicknamed Ginger, fyi) cooking away over the stove while a lobster lifts her skirt. Owner Mellisa helped to design the artwork.
According to the Roots, the door knockers represent their love for the Old World and the artwork represents their love of the New. This represents the Roots' cooking approach, as Root told Eater. The Hairy Lobster's dishes will be firmly grounded in historic recipes, but updated with modern techniques and flavors.
Perhaps the component that brings it all together is the restaurant's decision to serve all of its dishes on old English china. The Roots spent years collecting it for the restaurant, and ideally, the contemporary dishes will contrast with the china. We'll release full menu details here shortly, so stay tuned.
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